It has been known to fabricate low cost, demountable shelf units from boards or planks spaced apart from one another by a variety of items, including bricks, cinder blocks and even empty disposable beverage cans. The former two offer a high degree of structural integrity but tend to be bulky, abrasive, difficult to transport and expensive. Empty, disposable beverage cans offer the advantages of being inexpensive, readily obtainable, and easily transported. Achievement of satisfactory structural integrity, however, is difficult with conventional fabricating techniques such as gluing and taping the cans together. This is due primarily to the fact that the mass and diameter of the cans are too small to offer sufficient resistance to lateral forces notwithstanding the integrity of the cans themselves and the accuracy with which they are made. Cans present further difficulties in that while they rest squarely on flat surfaces, the chimes present on at least one end and in some cases on both ends prevent stable stacking as is often desired to achieve spacing between the shelves greater than the height of a single can. U.S. Pat. No. 3,751,082 discloses devices which snap fit over adjoining chimes to permit stacking of a plurality of cans. While the patent may offer a way to stack cans directly adjacent one another and make different constructions, the possible lack of structural integrity due to the small diameter and mass of the cans would not readily lead to a sturdy shelf-supporting construction or the like.
In terms of aesthetics, such known systems for can construction would also have the disadvantage of exposed can connecting elements. Such exposure would detract from any design compatibliity and aesthetic effect of the construction. In terms of manufacturing and marketing, it would be an advantage to be able to produce and sell a single, low cost, universally acceptable item with minimal emphasis on the aesthetic impact of the device on the structures to be fabricated.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a can construction device which is relatively simple, lost cost and can be installed with a minimum of readily "on hand" tools.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a can construction device with which a shelf unit of relatively high structural integrity may be quickly and easily constructed from empty beverage cans and boards or planks.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a can construction device which when installed is largely concealed thereby eliminating the need to assure design compatibility and color coordination of the device with the other components of the shelf unit.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a can construction device which may be molded in one piece with a simple, two-piece die.